Archive record · Brewery
Budweiser Budvar
České Budějovice, South Bohemian, Czechia
- Founded
- 1895
- Archive ID
- TB-BV2C22YS
- Last checked
- 2026-09-13
Who owns this brewery?
Not yet mapped as a company, so the chain above it is still open.
From the record
Summary
The original Czech Budweiser. Locked in a century-long trademark war with AB InBev; remains owned by the Czech state.
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Tally’s Take
State-owned, Czech, and locked in a trademark war with AB InBev for over a century. Budvar's real product is the refusal to sell the name.
Ownership & corporate history
- Reorganised as Budějovický Budvar, národní podnik1967
What the sources say
Researched 2026-09-13 (Budweiser build-out); no held claim preceded it. The state-owned national enterprise form the brewery keeps today; successor to the 1895 Český akciový pivovar and the city brewery.
- Controlled by Czech state (founder: Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic)1967
What the sources say
Researched 2026-09-13 (Budweiser build-out); no held claim preceded it. A národní podnik is a state enterprise; the brewery describes itself as a national brewery that 'belongs to each of us'. Breweries were nationalised in 1948; the 1967 date is the enterprise's own founding.
Ownership history is kept as dated events, so a change of owner never overwrites the one before it.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1895First brew at the Czech Joint-Stock Brewery
The Český akciový pivovar — today's Budějovický Budvar, n.p. — brewed its first beer on 7 October 1895, founded by Czech-speaking burghers of Budweis alongside the older German-run Bürgerbräu.
- 1906Exports to the United States begin
The joint-stock brewery began exporting beer to the USA — the year before Anheuser-Busch registered the Budweiser mark there.
- 1907Anheuser-Busch registers Budweiser in the US
Anheuser-Busch registered the Budweiser brand in the United States; the dispute over the name dates from here.
- 1911First agreement with Anheuser-Busch
The Czech brewery recognised the American registration for compensation but kept the right to label its beer 'Budweiser' and 'original' worldwide.
- 1939North America conceded
A week before the German occupation, both Budweis breweries were forced into a new agreement: no Budweiser, Budweis or derivative names on the North American mainland — the reason the beer sells there as Czechvar.
- 1942Nazi administrator appointed
Under the occupation a Nazi administrator was put in charge of Budvar and exports largely ceased.
- 1967Budějovický Budvar
národní podnik, The national enterprise was established as successor to the joint-stock brewery and the city brewery — the state-owned form it keeps today.
- 1991Independent again
On 1 January 1991, after the Velvet Revolution, Budějovický Budvar became an independent enterprise once more.
- 2010Anheuser-Busch loses at the European Court of Justice
On 29 July 2010 the ECJ dismissed Anheuser-Busch's final appeal against Budvar's opposition, leaving 'Budweiser' unregistrable as an EU-wide trademark for beer — one of well over a hundred proceedings between the two companies.
The Beer Library
Beers
Budweiser Budvar Original
Year-RoundCzech Pilsner
Lagered for ninety days — roughly three times the industry norm — and brewed with Saaz and artesian water from under the brewery. The century-long trademark fight with AB InBev is the reason most of the world has never legally seen this name on a label.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Budvar 33
Year-RoundBitter pale lager
Official Budvar page gives 4.6% ABV and 33 IBU.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Budvar redix
CURRENT OFFICIAL RANGEPale beer
Listed on official Czech portfolio; specifications left unknown.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Budvar Výčepní
CURRENT OFFICIAL RANGEPale draught beer
Listed on official Czech portfolio.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Budvar nealko
CURRENT OFFICIAL RANGENon-alcoholic pale beer
Official Czech portfolio; 0.0/export naming variants are not merged without package-level reconciliation.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Budvar Dark lager
CURRENT OFFICIAL RANGEDark lager
Official product information.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Budvar Reserve
CURRENT OFFICIAL RANGEStrong pale lager
Listed on official Czech portfolio; specifications left unknown.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Budweiser Budvar 0.0%
Year-RoundNon-alcoholic Czech lager
Current alcohol-free Budvar product. (ACTIVE)
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Budweiser Budvar Dark Lager
Year-RoundDark lager
Current Budvar dark lager. (ACTIVE)
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Straight answers
Common questions about Budweiser Budvar
- Who owns Budweiser Budvar?
- Budweiser Budvar is recorded as owned by Czech Republic (Ministry of Agriculture) — národní podnik, which does not yet have a full company profile in this archive.
- When was Budweiser Budvar founded?
- Budweiser Budvar was founded in 1895 in České Budějovice, South Bohemian, Czechia.
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